Having denounced the pagan customs of the Meccans, the text now affirms nine commandments (or eight commandments, with a closing note). This material, described as the "Straight Path," echoes the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, with some variations. The "Straight Path" could be summed up in a brief three-part way (with approximate parallels):
Part One:
1) Worship only Allah (Exodus 20:2-4)
2) Honor your parents (Exodus 20:12)
3) Do not kill your children (Exodus 20:13)
4) Do not commit any sort of sexual sins (Exodus 20:14, et al)
5) Do not kill innocent people (Exodus 20:13)
Part Two:
6) Do not defraud orphans (Exodus 22:22)
7) Do not bear false witness (Exodus 20:16)
8) Fulfill Allahs covenant (Exodus 19:5)
Part Three:
9) Follow this path, and not other paths (Deut. 4:2).
Each part is rhythmically punctuated with self-commendation: "This He has commanded you that you may understand," "This He commands you, that you may remember," and "This He has ordained for you that you may become pious."
This is an important passage because it identifies the Straight Path which is mentioned in Al-Fatihah (surah 1), and because it shows that when this text was delivered, Muhammads basic didactic message was not significantly different from the basic didactic message of Judaism in Arabia contemporary to Muhammad. These three verses are practically rabbinical.
The main differences between the Straight Path and the Ten Commandments are that Muhammad did not endorse the Sabbath (possibly his experience as a non-Sabbath-observing Arab had something to do with that), and raised the prominence of the command to care for orphans (possibly his own experience as an orphan had something to do with that), and did not include the commandment against coveting (possibly his own experience as a caravan-raider had something to do with that).
Despite these differences, it seems clear that Muhammad modeled the Straight Path on the Ten Commandments. This is in sync with the idea that Muhammad saw himself as a prophet like Moses - he saw himself as the prophet described in Deuteronomy 18:15-22.
Some aspects of Muhammads career make more sense if one examines them through an interpretive lens composed of the assumption that Muhammad consciously attempted to emulate Moses. Muhammad early in Mecca behaved comparably to Moses in Egypt (with the exception that Muhammad did not provide any plagues or other such signs of his authority). He advocated belief in one God and denounced idols and appealed for freedom of worship for his monotheistic people, and compared his opponents to Pharaoh. (I.e., Muhammad claimed that Allah led astray his opponents, similarly to the way Exodus describes the hardening of Pharaohs heart. This comparison becomes clearer and clearer as one examines Quranic passages specifically describing the confrontations between Moses and Pharaoh.) But after his exit from Mecca, Muhammad in Medina behaved comparably to Moses in the Wilderness, chiefly by advocating holy war against the infidels and eventually promoting pilgrimage to the Ka'aba (thus replacing Mosaic instructions about the tabernacle, adopting various Arabian customs in the process).
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
Part One:
1) Worship only Allah (Exodus 20:2-4)
2) Honor your parents (Exodus 20:12)
3) Do not kill your children (Exodus 20:13)
4) Do not commit any sort of sexual sins (Exodus 20:14, et al)
5) Do not kill innocent people (Exodus 20:13)
Part Two:
6) Do not defraud orphans (Exodus 22:22)
7) Do not bear false witness (Exodus 20:16)
8) Fulfill Allahs covenant (Exodus 19:5)
Part Three:
9) Follow this path, and not other paths (Deut. 4:2).
Each part is rhythmically punctuated with self-commendation: "This He has commanded you that you may understand," "This He commands you, that you may remember," and "This He has ordained for you that you may become pious."
This is an important passage because it identifies the Straight Path which is mentioned in Al-Fatihah (surah 1), and because it shows that when this text was delivered, Muhammads basic didactic message was not significantly different from the basic didactic message of Judaism in Arabia contemporary to Muhammad. These three verses are practically rabbinical.
The main differences between the Straight Path and the Ten Commandments are that Muhammad did not endorse the Sabbath (possibly his experience as a non-Sabbath-observing Arab had something to do with that), and raised the prominence of the command to care for orphans (possibly his own experience as an orphan had something to do with that), and did not include the commandment against coveting (possibly his own experience as a caravan-raider had something to do with that).
Despite these differences, it seems clear that Muhammad modeled the Straight Path on the Ten Commandments. This is in sync with the idea that Muhammad saw himself as a prophet like Moses - he saw himself as the prophet described in Deuteronomy 18:15-22.
Some aspects of Muhammads career make more sense if one examines them through an interpretive lens composed of the assumption that Muhammad consciously attempted to emulate Moses. Muhammad early in Mecca behaved comparably to Moses in Egypt (with the exception that Muhammad did not provide any plagues or other such signs of his authority). He advocated belief in one God and denounced idols and appealed for freedom of worship for his monotheistic people, and compared his opponents to Pharaoh. (I.e., Muhammad claimed that Allah led astray his opponents, similarly to the way Exodus describes the hardening of Pharaohs heart. This comparison becomes clearer and clearer as one examines Quranic passages specifically describing the confrontations between Moses and Pharaoh.) But after his exit from Mecca, Muhammad in Medina behaved comparably to Moses in the Wilderness, chiefly by advocating holy war against the infidels and eventually promoting pilgrimage to the Ka'aba (thus replacing Mosaic instructions about the tabernacle, adopting various Arabian customs in the process).
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
